Finkelstein and May Honored as Big West Scholar-Athletes of the Year

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. -
UC Santa Barbara's Josh Finkelstein and Anne Marie May were named the 2009-10 Big West Scholar-Athletes of the Year at a banquet hosted by the conference in Orange County on March 11. Each of the nine league institutions selects the winners from one of 18 conference-sponsored sports.

Finkelstein, a senior on the men's tennis team, is a business economics major. He garnered All-Big West First Team accolades in 2008 and 2009, serving as the team caption for the past three seasons. Finkelstein is a Dean's List and Big West All-Academic member as well as a 2009-10 Athletics Director Honor Roll member. He has helped out with the Santa Barbara Tennis Patrons youth clinics and the UCSB Adopt-A-Family program. Finkelstein hopes to play Davis Cup for Hong Kong after college but also would be interested in pursuing a career in business.

May is one of the most decorated swimmers to ever compete for the Gauchos. A senior from Carmel, Calif., she recently swam at the 2010 NCAA Championships and was ranked No. 1 in the nation earlier this year with the fastest time in the 50 free. A two-time NCAA All-American in the 50 free, she has broken all-time UCSB records 43 times and Big West records 17 times. May also earned 2008-09 CSCAA Scholar All-American and Big West Academic All-Conference honors. Her community involvement includes Special Olympics, Swim Against Malaria, and UCSB's Adopt-A-Family program. A communication major, she is considering training for the next Olympic trials after finishing 14th in the 50 free at the 2008 Olympic trials.